Managing adaptive streaming of data via a communication connection
a technology of communication connection and data stream, applied in the field of managing adaptive streaming of data via a communication connection, can solve the problems of demand which exceeds capacity and affects not only a particular segment of the data path, and is not easy to achieve the effect of reducing processor performance, different fidelity levels, and little more challenging
Inactive Publication Date: 2013-09-05
GOOGLE TECH HLDG LLC
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AI Technical Summary
Benefits of technology
The present invention provides a method for managing adaptive streaming of data in a receiving device. The method includes requesting a data stream from a server, where the server includes one or more streams of data with different fidelity levels. The method includes buffering the data segments in a buffer with an initial maximum window size, receiving new data segments, and adjusting the maximum window size based on the available space in the buffer. The method also includes adjusting the fidelity level of the data stream based on the processor performance and the buffer size. The data interface of the receiving device includes a transceiver for communication with the server, a buffer for storing received data, and a controller for managing the data stream. The technical effects of the invention include efficient use of network bandwidth, improved processing performance, and minimized buffer size.
Problems solved by technology
This can sometimes be a little more challenging in a packet data network, where there is no dedicated bandwidth that can be relied upon to ensure a steady flow of data as needed on demand.
Demand which exceeds capacity might not only affect a particular segment of the data path but might also occur at the server which is the source of the data stream.
In some instances, the periods of high demand, which might negatively impact the ability of the server or the communication connection to convey the data, can be transitory and can result in the data being conveyed to a particular user to arrive unevenly or in bursts.
While a larger buffer will help to accommodate a greater amount of volatility or a greater variety of flow disruptions, a larger buffer generally requires an increased amount of system resources, namely the available memory, to be used in support of the data buffer, and can increase the time needed to fill the data buffer, which correspondingly can delay the start time before the streaming content begins to be presented to the user, relative to the point in time that the user requested the content.
In addition to variances associated with sourcing and delivering the data in the data stream via the communication connection, smooth rendering of content can sometimes be affected by processor playback capabilities including disruptions of the same that similarly may be transitory in nature.
Generally, higher fidelity data streams require larger amounts of data and greater processing power for decoding and rendering the content.
The server seeing a decrease in the current window size may determine that the device is unable to support the current data flow for a particular level of quality, where an amount of data is buffered based on a predetermined amount of time deemed desirable for smoothing over the possible variability.
This may be the result of a degradation in the ability of the device to receive or render the data.
Correspondingly, the server may reduce the level of quality of subsequently streamed data segments.
Because the processor loads that negatively affect available processing capabilities for rendering streamed data can sometimes occur as momentary spikes which can measurably impact the current window size which is reported to the server, in some instances the server may react to a decrease in the current window size based upon a degradation in processor performance that is only transitory in nature.
While the level of quality can generally be both increased and decreased as appropriate, there can sometimes be significant delay in making changes in the current quality settings that return or increase the level of quality relative to the current capabilities of the device.
Method used
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[0018]Turning to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, the invention is illustrated as being implemented in a suitable environment. The following description is based on embodiments of the invention and should not be taken as limiting the invention with regard to alternative embodiments that are not explicitly described herein.
[0019]It is beneficial to manage the size of the maximum window size, which in turn affects the current window size used by a server to determine a level of quality of a data stream to provide to a receiving device, where the maximum window size of the data buffer in the receiving device could be momentarily increased to accommodate an increasing amount of data that have been received and acknowledged but not yet consumed by the rendering application in the receiving device until it can be determined that any decrease in processor playback capability is more than transitory. This can reduce the number of instances in which the s...
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Data are received at a receiving device from a server, where the data are encoded into one of a plurality of different versions, each version having a different fidelity level. A data stream having a buffer with an initial maximum window size for buffering received data is requested from the server, wherein the data stream initially has a first fidelity level. The maximum window size is managed to prevent the current window size from falling below a threshold that might trigger an adjustment by the server in the fidelity level of the data stream sent by the server, unless and until the accumulation of data in the buffer due to a decrease in the present processing capabilities of the controller of the receiving device falls below a threshold of processing power necessary for processing the data stream at the higher fidelity level for more than a transitory period of time.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention is related generally to managing adaptive streaming of data via a communication connection, and more particularly, to management of the adaptive data stream by managing the size of a data buffer and correspondingly the available buffer space in a device receiving the data.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Digital distribution of content has become increasingly popular for receiving content, such as audio or video, to be rendered by a receiving device. It has also become increasingly desirable for the content to be rendered proximate the same time that the content is received or “on-demand.” At least one type of on-demand or real-time digital delivery is referred to as streaming, which attempts to maximize the quality level of the content stream, while minimizing the amount of system resources necessary for supporting the rendering of the data stream, such as the memory used for buffering or maintaining the content that is stored on th...
Claims
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Login to View More IPC IPC(8): G06F15/16
CPCH04L65/80H04N21/23439H04N21/4392H04N21/4424H04L67/32H04N21/8456H04L65/4084H04L65/602H04L65/60H04N21/6379H04L65/612H04L65/762H04L67/60H04L47/25H04L49/9005
InventorRAMAMURTHY, ARJUNLUTHRA, AJAY K.SCHMIDT, MARK S.
OwnerGOOGLE TECH HLDG LLC